LCS 'Independence' Greeted at New Home Port

LCS Independence arrives at its new home port led through San Diego Bay by a water-spraying tugboat.

Independence, the lead ship in the trimaran hull-variant, is the second vessel in the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship program. It’s also the second LCS to arrive at Naval Base San Diego, where the Navy plans to base its future fleet of 55 ships. The first littoral combat ship, Freedom, arrived in San Diego in 2010.

Independence left Mayport, Fla., in early April, traveling through the Panama Canal with a stop in Manzanillo, Mexico, headquarters of Mexico’s Pacific Fleet, for a five-day visit before making the final push north to San Diego.

The “Gold” crew will turn over the ship to the “Blue” crew by the end of the week, then take time off before resuming training at their new work spaces along the waterfront, which includes an LCS ship simulator.